Question: Michael buys a basket of watermelons on sale for $\$21$ before tax. The sales tax is $15\%$. What is the total price Michael pays for the basket of watermelons? (Round to the nearest hundredth or cent.)
In order to find the total price, first find the amount of sales tax paid by multiplying the sales tax by the original price of the basket of watermelons. ${15\%} \times {$21} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $15\%$ is equivalent to $\frac{15}{100}$ which is also equal to $15 \div 100$ $15 \div 100 = 0.15$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. ${0.15} \times {$21} = {$3.15}$ Add the sales tax you just found to the original price to find the final price Michael paid. ${$3.15} + {$21.00} = $24.15$ Michael needs to pay $$24.15.$